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Show 170 THE MIDI'WIWIN OP THE OJIBWA. The chiefs of this group of malevolent beings are Bears ( Nos. 88 and 96), the Panther ( No. 91), the Lynx ( No. 97), and many others whose names they have forgotten, their positions being indicated at Nos. 85,86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, and 95, all but the last resembling characters ordinarily employed to designate serpents. The power with which it is possible to become endowed after passing through the fourth degree is expressed by the outline of a human figure ( No. 98), upon which are a number of spots indicating that the body is covered with the mi'gis or sacred shells, symbolical of the Mide'wiwin. These spots designate the places where the Mide' priests, during the initiation, shot into his body the mi'gis and the lines connecting them in order that all the functions of the several corresponding parts or organs of the body may be exercised. The ideal fourth degree Mide' is presumed to be in a position to accomplish the greatest feats in necromancy and magic. He is not only endowed with the power of reading the thoughts and intentions of others, as is pictorially indicated by the mi'gis spot upon the top of the head, but to call forth the shadow ( soul) and retain it within his grasp at pleasure. At this stage of his pretensions, he is encroaching upon the prerogatives of the JSs'sakkid', and is then recognized as one, as he usually performs within the Jds'sakk& n or JSs'sakkid' lodge, commonly designated " the Jugglery." The ten small circular objects upon the upper part of the record may have been some personal marks of the original owner; their import was not known to my informants and they do not refer to any portion of the history or ceremonies or the Mide'wiwin. Extending toward the left from the end of the fourth degree in-closure is an angular pathway ( No. 99), which represents the course to be followed by the Mide' after he has attained this high distinction. On account of his position his path is often beset with dangers, as indicated by the right angles, and temptations which may lead him astray; the points at which he may possibly deviate from the true course of propriety are designated by projections branching off obliquely toward the right and left ( No. 100). The ovoid figure ( No. 101) at the end of this path is termed Wai- 8k'- ma- y6k'- End of the road- and is alluded to in the ritual, as will be observed hereafter, as the end of the world, i. e., the end of the individual's existence. The number of vertical strokes ( No. 102) within the ovoid figure signify the original owner to have been a fourth degree Mide' for a period of 14 years. The outline of the Midg'wigan ( No. 103) not only denotes that the same individual was a member of the Mide'wiwin, but the thirteen vertical strokes shown in Nos. 104 and 105 indicate that he was chief Mide' priest of the society for that number of years. The outline of a Mide'wig^ ln as shown at No. 106, with the place upon the interior designating the location of the sacred post ( No. |
